Today Kumho Tire Inc. made a pretty important announcement – one that doesn’t speak highly of the liquidity situation that its parent company currently finds itself in. Due to a temporary cash shortage in the company, many December salaries are being delayed. The $11 million worth of salaries is scheduled to be paid back in early January when Kumho Asiano Group receives payments from clients and replenishes its coffers. The parent company blames the salary delay on a large debt payment made at the end of the year, news which sent shares in Kumho Tire tumbling almost 13%.

Kumho manufactures OE tires for companies like Hyundai and Kia, and like other tire companies, was hit hard but the auto industry recession and vehicle production cuts. On top of the precarious economic situation, Kumho’s parent company also has stakes in other interests and was facing debt payments that had to be made. They have declined to comment officially about this latest incident.

We’ll keep an eye on the liquidity situation at Kumho and hope that everything can get sorted out. It would be a shame to see dips in production on wholesale Kumho tires, which include passenger, performance, light truck, SUV, competition, and commercial truck tire lineups.

As part of their aggressive growth strategy to become one of the top 5 global tire manufacturers, South Korean tire maker Kumho has announced the opening of a brand new warehouse in South Brunswick, NJ. The facility has storage capacity for up to 225,000 units and will serve primarily as a support center for tire distribution to wholesale tire distributors located in eastern New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maryland, and Delaware.

Kumho currently markets its line of passenger car and truck tires in over 160 countries. Those located in the northeast can expect a significant difference in stock availability and shipping times thanks to the new Kumho warehouse. Check with your local tire dealer for more information about Kumho tires or buy Kumho tires online.

Within the year, tire dealers should expect to gain access to inventory of five new wholesale truck tires from Kumho. Since its new Chinese radial truck and bus tire factory was added to company’s manufacturing resources last December, Kumho USA has had extended access to truck tires. 5 new models are expected in 2009, including a drive, steer and trailer tire, an on/off highway steer and trailer tire, and a wide-base tire.